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Heart of Darkness: A Signature Performance by Kenneth Branagh
- Narrated by: Kenneth Branagh
- Length: 3 hrs and 49 mins
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Publisher's Summary
Prose that demands to be read aloud requires a special kind of narrator. For the Audible Signature Classics edition of Joseph Conrad’s atmospheric masterpiece, Heart of Darkness, we called upon four-time Academy Award nominee Kenneth Branagh.
Branagh’s performance is riveting because he reads as though he’s telling a ghost story by a campfire, capturing the story’s sense of claustrophobia, while hinting at the storyteller Marlow’s own creeping madness. Heart of Darkness follows Captain Marlow into the colonial Congo where he searches for a mysterious ivory trader, Kurtz, and discovers an evil that will haunt him forever.
With this landmark work, Conrad is credited with bringing the novel into the twentieth century; we think Branagh brings it into the twenty-first.
Stay tuned for more one-of-a-kind performances from actors David Hyde Pierce, Leelee Sobieski, Tim Curry, and more, only from Audible Signature Classics.
What the critics say
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What listeners say about Heart of Darkness: A Signature Performance by Kenneth Branagh
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Viay Tharayil
- 2018-09-19
This book is a work of art in literature...
#Audible1. Conrad’s insights and ability to convey meaning and depth of human conquest from the perspective of hunter and the hunted...invokes within us, a view into darkness of our soul. It is only through the enlightenment through the medium of literature are we left enriched and placed in a mode of reflection....the Congo has never really recovered from the blanket of exploitation.
The narrator Kenneth Branagh takes us through this journey - the way Conrad may have envisioned this story is told...
2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 2022-08-16
Astounding
Listening to this title was a blast from the past. I had forgotten how much this book impacted my early teen mind when I first read it. “We live as we dream…alone”
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Jan B
- 2022-07-10
outstanding Narration .
The quality of the narration pulled me right into this book. I had been meaning to read it since the movie Apocalypse Now back in the '80s. not the kind of male-centric material I normally like, but Branagj's narration made all of these characters both sympathetic and tragic.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Lewis & Marina Hrytzak
- 2022-06-26
Kenneth Branagh is brilliant!
The highlight for me is Branagh's brilliant performance. It is perfection. I was, however, troubled by the racism in the story. Although this is, of course, historically accurate for the times (and even now in 2022), it still takes my breath away and is difficult to hear. Conrad's writing is powerful. I highly recommend this version due to Branagh's reading. Do I recommend Heart of Darkness? Definitely. What it says about human nature is invaluable. It is a classic for a reason.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- coffee drinker in Calgary
- 2022-06-19
a classic that I had long meant to read ....
A tale very well narrated by Kenneth Branagh.
The story gripped me and I will think on it.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Julie
- 2022-05-09
Haunting story presented so perfectly
This classic story is wonderful on the page, but add Keneth Branagh's performance in reading it, and you have a very wonderful way to spend an afternoon.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Arthur W. Frank
- 2022-01-18
A great realization
Kenneth Branagh’s reading is itself a work of art. The nuance he brings to Conrad, his sense of the story’s pace, and at a lesser level, his ability to slip seamlessly into characters and their distinctive accents without seeming to be doing an accent—all this is great acting, but always in service to Conrad’s text.
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Ewguitars
- 2021-11-02
boring waste of time
how is this a classic? it's long winded and boring and completely pointless... nothing impressive by far.. travel up a river, fetch Kurt's, bring him back down river. nothing interesting even happens. one guy gets speared. that's it... slow clap.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 2021-10-25
Good but little confusing at times
I really liked the book just found it was hard to differentiate between the characters sometime as the narrator makes the characters sound fairly familiar.
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 2021-04-05
Felt Lost
As always, Branagh is wonderful. The story itself is confusing and frustrating. Not worth it.
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Long_Schlong_Silver
- 2018-09-27
Disgusting Revision
The text is exceptionally well recited. HOWEVER, in researching this novella I came to realize a disgusting change had taken place. The word nigger has been completely scrubbed from this reading and replaced with the word black. I find this to be appalling, as it has substantially changed the tone of the narrator's commentary on black Africans. The text is now fundamentally changed. This change was no doubt well-meaning, but implies that historical reality itself is unsuitable, offensive, and so unnecessary to understanding the literature that it warrants revision. As a consequence, just to preserve an idiotic sense of comfy politeness during the reading of a novel which largely features violent European imperialism, the editors have disarmed the reality of the text and removed it from history. I am most offended in that I would have never noticed this change had I not researched it further, giving me a false impression of the author, rhe story's contents, and its place in history. I cannot stress enough how disappointed I am by this. It was such an excellent reading, otherwise.
309 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Darwin8u
- 2012-11-21
Conrad's Brilliant & Wild Novella
The novella is literature's most compellingly roaming form and Conrad absolutely owns it with Heart of Darkness. I first read Conrad in high school, with throngs of other pimply kids. I liked it sure, but didn't understand all of the conflciting currents of this brilliant story. I was re-introduced to Heart of Darkness when I recognized it in Francis Ford Coppola brilliant Apocalypse Now. During the last few years I've been on a huge Conrad kick, listening or reading to Lord Jim, Victory, The Secret Agent, Nostromo, etc.
The man is simply amazing. It is incredible to think that he could write better in his 3rd language (English) than most writers could ever hope to write in their first. In this way, he shares a lot with Nabokov.
Anyway, this is one of those few works I constantly return to for its humanity and for its inspiriation. Kenneth Branagh's reading of HoD is amazing in both its depth and nuance.
73 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
- Kyle
- 2010-12-10
Great narration
This is where I wish we could give two scores, one for narration and one for writing.
I was assigned The Heart of Darkness in high school and despised every minute of it. In fact, I have often referenced it as my most-abhorred book.
As an adult, I wanted to give the book a second chance, and I figured if I didn't like it with Kenneth Branagh narrating it, there was no hope for reconciliation. I figured that four hours was short enough a time to devote to this experiment.
Branagh gets an A+. The narration is impeccable. If you like this story, you're in for a treat.
Unfortunately, I still can't stand the book. I didn't agree with Conrad's premise as a kid and nothing has changed in the interim.
But, that's just me. If you like this story or want to experience it for the first time, this is in the upper echelon of audiobooks.
68 people found this helpful
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- J. A.
- 2020-06-21
Censored
This is a great novel but the reader has censored some language that would be considered offensive today. This is a great disservice to the story itself. I recommend another audio version that is more faithful.
52 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Harold
- 2010-12-11
From Civilization into Darkness
The enigmatic narrator Marlowe tells his dark story of madness and despair from the deck of a ship anchored in the Thames in the harbor of London, the then world's center of commerce and civilization. It ends in the heart of madness and despair, the Congo river deep in Africa. In this short novel, which has been called one of the most important works in modern literature, Marlow's voice is that of Kenneth Branagh, one of the finest of actors today. His voice gives a complete new dimension with an interpretation on a richer more meaningful level that is impossible with just the printed word.
52 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Michael
- 2017-06-11
God is Dead (for the first time)
I had not read any Conrad until recently, and was mildly surprised Conrad had four novels on Modern Library's Top 100 list (more than any other author). Having now completed the four Conrad novels on that list (Nostromo, Lord Jim, The Secret Agent, and The Heart of Darkness) I definitely enjoyed this version of the Heart of Darkness the most, yet I did not find any of these "must reads" except to gain, first hand, a historical perspective on modernist literature.
Conrad's writing of around 1900 is essentially modern and the earliest novels I have found in which "God is dead". This is not at all explicit, but is subtly, yet distinctly, implicit. In the 1880's Nietzsche declared "God is dead" but it took a while before novels began to explore this viewpoint. I was not expecting this outlook when I started Heart of Darkness, I was expecting a dark adventure novel. I found the writing excellent, but was surprised by the modernist outlook and style elements.
Some have considered Heart of Darkness racist, as the novel clearly objectifies native Africans. I would contend that Conrad objectifies everybody in his novels. There is racism, but it is the racism of the the society and characters, not of the author. The author seems to point out the absurdity, and mindless conformity, of racism (and many other social constructs). The novels are not about story, or about character, but instead are impressionistic interpretations of the author's nihilistic existentialist world view. The author's language is rich and powerful with exaggerated and non-linear descriptions.
Sometimes a book makes a "best" list because it is truly great, sometimes because it is very good and was a creative first. I think the latter applies to these Conrad novels.
There is a strong similarity of fundamental outlook between these four novels. I am happy to have read them all, but won't recommend them all to my daughter...I will recommend Heart of Darkness.
The narration by Branagh is wonderfully perfect and this narration makes this a really wonderful first Conrad.
37 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 2010-12-07
Highly enjoyable.
This was my first time reading Heart of Darkness. It was highly gripping, and Kenneth Branagh does a great job at narrating. I listened to the entire book in one sitting. There's not much more for me to add, because it is such a classic novella.
37 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Sher from Provo
- 2011-11-05
Dark story, much to ponder
This book is so full of symbolism that I had to listen to it twice to get the most out of it. I checked out sparknotes in between listens so as to get as much as I could out of the second listen, and it was a smart move on my part. If I had been satisfied with one time through, I would have missed the whole point of the story. It is a short book, more of a novella, which might help entice me to read it again in the future. It is a great allegory and commentary on human nature. Conrad is a great writer. I think I will ponder on this story for a long time and try to determine which character I am most like at an given time. I will also use it to analyze (not judge) those around me. It is inevitable, I think. Read this book if you enjoy stories that make you think, dig deep for hidden meanings, and analyze. It will stay with you for a long time. However, keep in mind that it was written for another era and much of the structure should not be considered or evaluated according to modern standards. It is a classic and will stand up to the test of time if the reader remembers that fact. The story itself is timeless.
I can't say enough good about narrator Kenneth Branagh. Fabulous!!
33 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Jefferson
- 2011-10-31
The (Beautiful and Appalling) Horror!
Kenneth Branagh gives a mesmerizing reading of Heart of Darkness, bringing out all the darkly beautiful surfaces and bleakly existential undercurrents of Joseph Conrad's novella, as well as convincingly voicing all the characters, from the sensitive and scarred British Marlow to the slimy Belgian trading company men, creepy Russian disciple, and charismatic and appalling Kurtz and his ever-grieving fiance.
The book has been criticized for portraying Africans as sub-human, and it is true that Conrad (and hence Branagh) gives almost no voice to the native population, but I find in Heart of Darkness less racist condescension towards the Africans and more moral outrage towards their European colonial exploiters.
The nearly four-hour audiobook, during which Marlow recounts his journey into the Congo to find the "genius" trading agent Kurtz, quickly caught me and carried me inexorably towards "The horror! The horror!" and its haunting aftermath. It left me stunned and grimly impressed (though somehow not depressed) by its disturbing depiction of the raping of Africa by colonial powers like Belgium (taking countless tons of ivory in exchange for worthless glass beads and shabby fabrics, imposing incomprehensible laws onto the native peoples and brutally punishing them for the slightest infractions, and so on), and by its timely application to the developed world's current exploitation of the Congo ("conflict minerals") and of Africa in general (diamonds, oil and other resources). But the greatness of the novella lies in its transcending specific examples like Africa and universalizing the heart of darkness to include England in the time of the Romans and all human beings in any time, exposing the heart of darkness in all of us.
14 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Daniel
- 2011-02-18
GREAT AUDIOBOOK!
It is tempting to see Heart of Darkness as a masterfully constructed parable on human nature (witness Apocalypse Now, Francis Ford Coppola's film adaptation, in which the action was transposed to south-east Asia) but as historian Adam Hochschild has pointed out in King Leopold's Ghost, about the king's rape of the Congo, Conrad himself was quite clear that it was based on specific events he had witnessed, saying it was "experience… pushed a little (and only very little) beyond the actual facts of the case". Despite his protestations, this is undeniably an invaluable historical document offering a glimpse into the horrific human consequences of the imperial powers' scramble for Africa as much as it is a compelling tale.
14 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Client d'Amazon
- 2021-03-25
branagh is incredible! his performances are varied
branagh is incredible! his performances are varied and deep. a dark jewel to experience in an enrapturing confusion of time and place
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Alexandre Brunelle
- 2020-09-11
j'ai pas aimé
mais les goûts et les couleurs ne se discutent pas.
ça pourrait plaire à quelqu'un...
